DESCRIPTION (adapted from the application): The proposed training program will provide predoctoral trainees with a solid academic background in molecular pathogenesis, with a particular emphasis on host-pathogen interactions. Training will include relevant course work, regularly scheduled seminars and journal clubs, and rigorous laboratory training with the goal of preparing students for careers in research related to the goals of this program. Recent recruitment efforts have resulted in the formation of a critical mass of established investigators in the broad area of microbial pathogenesis, and accordingly this application proposes to establish an integrated training program for predoctoral students in host-pathogen interactions. In addition to their common research interests, many of these faculty already have substantial evidence for collaborative interactions. Faculty research interests encompass areas including regulation of virulence gene expression, host-pathogen interactions, molecular immunology and immune defense, molecular virology and bioinformatics. The program consists of 13 faculty, all of whom are current NIH grant holders and who, as a group, have had a substantial training history. As a whole, this group enjoys national and international recognition in their respective fields. The training faculty represents a broad range of departmental affiliations, including the Departments of Microbiology and Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine, the Division of Biomedical Engineering at Boston University, and the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology in the Goldman School of Dental Medicine. The major goal of the program will be to 1) recruit and enroll students of the highest quality, including underrepresented minorities; 2) provide these trainees with a multidisciplinary background in molecular pathogenesis coupled with intensive laboratory training in a particular research topic; 3) teach the trainees critical thinking skills and how to ask relevant and feasible research questions; 4) instill these trainees with a sense of ethical behavior; 5) t help develop effective written and oral communication skills among the trainees; and 6) to facilitate collaborative interactions among both students and faculty of the host-pathogen interaction training program.